Abstract P1-05-20: COVID-19 Lockdown Resulting in Advanced Cancer and Worse Histology at Presentation in Hispanics
Authors: Juzar Hussain, Gabriel Roman Souza, Tamarah Aldawoodi, Lauren C. Jameson, Lauren Rahman, Nomso C. Agim, Jonathan Gelfond, Marcela Mazo-Canola
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Background In breast cancer, prognosis is marked by histology and stage at diagnosis. Patients presenting with HER-2 positive or triple negative breast (TNBC) often have a worse prognosis. Early detection of breast cancer is mainly based on yearly screening mammograms, which were disrupted during the lockdown stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, underserved populations, especially the Hispanic population often lack access to preventive care due to lack of funding causing delays in access to timely care. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many patients to miss their annual mammogram screening due to lockdown causing subsequent presentation of more advanced cancer. We, therefore, hypothesized that more patients were diagnosed with advanced cancer after lockdown and worse histology in the Hispanic population compared to the non-Hispanic population of San Antonio, Texas. Methods We identified 3 cohorts retrospectively using chart review: Pre-covid-19 era was defined between 2018 to March 2020. Lockdown is defined as a period between April 2020 to December 2020 followed by the post-vaccine era from January 1st 2021 to 2022. Pearson’s Chi-squared and logistic regression tests were used to determine the relationship between time, histology at diagnosis and ethnicity. Results More Hispanic patients were found to present with HER2+ disease (OR: 1.65. p-value .047) compared to non-Hispanic women. When looking at presentation of HER2+ disease in the pre-covid-19 era, there was a 15.11% increase in the presentation of HER2+ disease in the post-vaccine era. When looking at the presentation of TNBC disease in women, there was not a significant correlation seen in the lockdown or post-vaccine period in Hispanic compared non-Hispanic women. Other factors such as funding status were associated with TNBC at presentation independently of ethnicity. In the lockdown era, the number of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients reached an all-time low and during the post-vaccine era, the patient numbers are back to the pre-covid era. Conclusion Ethnicity in part played a role in the number of patients presenting with more aggressive histology such as TNBC and Her 2 positive breast cancer in the post-vaccine era. These findings may be secondary to fact that certain ethnic groups are more likely to miss preventive screenings and the covid 19 pandemic lockdown exacerbated this problem. Diagnosis of advance cancer can further deter patients from seeking care due to socioeconomic factors and possibly increase mortality in these populations. These findings suggest that there seems to be a correlation between race and presentation of more aggressive histology caused by the effects of the pandemic in cancer care affecting minorities. Citation Format: Juzar Hussain, Gabriel Roman Souza, Tamarah Aldawoodi, Lauren C. Jameson, Lauren Rahman, Nomso C. Agim, Jonathan Gelfond, Marcela Mazo-Canola. COVID-19 Lockdown Resulting in Advanced Cancer and Worse Histology at Presentation in Hispanics [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-05-20.